How do you play with your infants?

I need to stop reading so many parenting books, its starting to make me feel like we aren't doing enough to stimulate their little minds during play time!! (Parental guilt already setting in!!) Help, I don't know if I'm doing enough, too much, etc! We give them tummy time, which they HATE and they cry and scream, but we make them stay on their tummies anyway and try to engage them with a toy or just be on the floor with them. We read to them, dangle toys in front of them, play music, have them spend time on their activity mats, talk to them...

What does everyone else do for playtime??

 

I need to stop reading so many parenting books, its starting to make me feel like we aren't doing enough to stimulate their little minds during play time!! (Parental guilt already setting in!!) Help, I don't know if I'm doing enough, too much, etc! We give them tummy time, which they HATE and they cry and scream, but we make them stay on their tummies anyway and try to engage them with a toy or just be on the floor with them. We read to them, dangle toys in front of them, play music, have them spend time on their activity mats, talk to them...

What does everyone else do for playtime??

 

I just had this conversation with dh... I put them in their exersausers and makes faces at them. We also sing songs and bounce them on my knee (one at a time.) I sit them in the bumbos while I cook dinner and sing songs on the radio. That's all I do with them and they seem to be happy! Those parenting books are hard to follow with two. I feel like any more and they would be over stimulated.

 

At what point can they use exersaucers and bumbo seats? We have them but haven't started using them yet, I didn't think the boys were old enough??

 

We do tummy time directly on the blanket and on their boppy pillows while facing each other. We take pictures while laying on the blanket, etc... I've taken soooo many pictures of them that they seem to recognize the camera and smile I have a mozart music box from discovery channel that I love!! We play with that for a short while. We also have the rocking chairs from fisher price that they like to play with. They use the toys as a punching bag I have a swing and the einstein play mat. They both don't seem to like the bumbo seat. I keep trying with that. A few other goofy stuff like singing but that's about it.

 

We started around the age of your twins for a few minutes. I wait for signs that they are tired of it and then move on to the next thing. We started with 5 minutes rotating things and are up to 15 minutes of each. The bumbo I use at dinner time for preparation and then I use the Baby Einstein mat, we don't enjoy the mats though.

 

Everyday we try to stimulate them as much as we can. I am home all day by myself so it is hard for one on one time then. During the day they spend most of their time in their toys, we alternate between 2 exersaucers, 2 jumpers, 1 walker, and a playpen full of toys. During the day I will sit on the floor and play with them as much as I can while they are in their toys. I just talk to them, touch them, make faces at them, etc. At nite we have a big pad that we lay down and let them roll around on it with their toys and we give one on one attention as well.

I think the parenting books are great, to an extent. But sometimes they do make parents worry about this and that a little too much. Just spend as much time as you can with them and they should be fine.

 

My boys love their bouncer seats! We have the blue infant to toddler one with the farm animals dangling over it. They smile and coo and even bat at the toys, which is so cute. They've only recently in the last few weeks shown so much enjoyment from it though. And oh my goodness do they love their mobile! It's so cute now putting them under it and they just go crazy kicking and cooing! Adorable! But it is definitely busy with twins...their attention span is only so long, so we are rotating quite a bit.

 

At 2 months, they pretty much hang out. Eating alone is enough to wear them out. At that age, mine ate, slept, sat in their bouncies or on the floor under the playgym. They were also trilled to go in the carseats and troll the mall.

 

quote:
At 2 months, they pretty much hang out. Eating alone is enough to wear them out. At that age, mine ate, slept, sat in their bouncies or on the floor under the playgym.



Thank goodness...this sounds like my day. Sometimes I feel bad, all they do is rotate between the EZ 2 Nurse pillow, bouncey seats, swing and floor under the playgym!!